A Not So Traditional Christmas
by NenyaBlackWood
Summary: Jasper just wants a traditional Christmas, but an accident changes his plans. SLASH
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Recognisable characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. Rated M, because this is a Slash fic and also has some naughty language.**

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><p><strong>A Not So Traditional Christmas<strong>

**Chapter One**

I'm having a most amazing dream. You know, the kind that's absolutely perfect, but funny at the same time? Yeah, it's one of those dreams that I don't want to wake up from.

I'm dreaming that I'm back in my childhood home town of Houston, Texas. The sun is shining brightly, so warm, and reflecting in a shimmer of rainbows on the lake near my home. I used to enjoy sitting in the shade of the trees on the hottest days, alternating between reading a book or watching the dancing colours cast by the waters reflections of the sun. Unlike during my childhood, I'm not alone in my dream. Edward is sitting near me in the shade of the trees, resting his back against the smooth bark with his head leaning back, eyes closed.

I enjoy dreaming, because whatever I want to happen _will_ happen. As I watch Edward, with his lazy and content smile on his face, I want to see what he'd look like with his skin shimmering with colour like the water's surface. Just thinking about that causes the reflections from the water to shift and the light and colours to begin dancing across his face. He looks perfect, so angelic, and I smile at the sight in front of me. The dancing lights seem to irritate his peaceful rest though. He cracks his eyes open and the gorgeous emerald orbs turn to gaze at me.

"Jazz, what are you doing?"

I smile and place the book I've been distracted from reading onto the ground, then manoeuvring to my hands and knees, I stalk towards my prey.

"I'm just seeing how much more beautiful you can become with the sun reflecting colours on your face, darling."

While I prowl towards him with my gaze set on his, he shifts enough to raise his head from the trunk of the tree, the lust beginning to build in his eyes as he watches me.

"Am I any more beautiful then?"

The colours are shimmering across his skin, as though millions of tiny diamonds are embedded there, reflecting the light. As I reached his feet, I stalk my way closer to him, one knee and one hand on either side of his legs until my face is close to his. Sitting back, I rest my ass snugly against his crotch, as though we're made perfectly for each other; fitting jigsaw pieces.

"Oh yes, darling. So fucking beautiful."

He smiles lazily at my words, his head tilting back to rest against the tree again, but I'm not having any of that. I raise my hand from the sunburned grass to tangle in his copper spikes of hair and tug his head back towards me. With our faces an inch apart, I examine the light a second longer, and then begin kissing every different colour that I can see. I kiss the yellows, the greens, the blues, silvers and oranges. Once every inch of his face is peppered and not a single sparkle missed, I move down and devour the very last colour; soft pink lips.

Edward remains motionless beneath me, his arms lifeless at his sides and his lips unmoving against mine. My brow furrows into a frown and I tilt my head to try to deepen the kiss, attempting to coax him by trailing the tip of my tongue against his bottom lip; there's no response.

As I begin leaning back to meet his eyes and ask what's wrong, a sudden, sharp pain stabs at my butt, causing me to jump and spin on his lap to see what caused it.

"What the fu…"

My eyes widen at what I see standing so close to us: a rather large and very much alive turkey staring at me. Its head seems to tilt as it examines us, and then ruffling its black feathers, it swoops its head down and lands another painful peck on my butt. Cocking its head, the turkey then turns and skulks away towards the bank of the lake.

"Edward? . . . are you seeing this, or am I going insane?"

When he doesn't answer right away, I turn my head to check he's okay. His lazy smile is back and his green eyes flicker towards the retreating turkey, then back to my face.

"Christmas dinner - gobble gobble!"

My frown deepens as I watch his eyes. The shimmer of colours has left his skin, returning us both to the shade that the tree provides us with. We stare into each other's eyes, but there's no longer any lust there. He raises his eyebrow, as though trying to help me to understand something, but I don't know what. Sitting back against his lap, I run it through my head, trying to will myself to understand.

_Turkey. Christmas dinner. Gobble gobble. Turkey. Christmas dinner. Gobble gobble._

"Shit! The Christmas dinner!"

I'm off Edward's lap like a shot, sprinting at my fullest speed towards the turkey on the bank of the lake. It scrapes its clawed feet into the snow and pecks at whatever it finds beneath. It takes a second for me to realise the sun has vanished behind thick snow storm clouds, and the swollen flakes of white swirl around me as I run. It seems the faster I try to reach the bird, the further away it becomes, even though it isn't moving except for digging in the snow.

I need to catch it. I can't let it get away. That's our Christmas dinner, and it won't be Christmas without a turkey on the dinner table! At the realization of this, something seems to snap and the invisible hands holding me back finally release me. I'm making progress now, running at my top speed towards the turkey. A metre away... half a metre away… inches away. I lunge, but the stupid bird ducks and I go flying over its head and hurtling towards the lake.

"Fuck!"

Crashing through the thin ice and into the coldest water I've ever felt, I try to hold my breath, but the air is knocked clear out of my lungs. I manage to twist around and kick for the surface, but my head connects with ice and I can't break through. I manage to pry my eyes open and peer upwards. Within seconds, the ice has reformed and there's no way out. I can see the daylight above me through the layer, glassy like a window instead of crystallized like real ice, and both Edward and that stupid turkey are standing right above me. Their heads tilt as they watch me struggling to survive. When the blackness begins drawing in, they both let out a loud: 'gobble gobble'.

"Argh!"

I sit bolt upright, wheezing painfully while struggling to draw in deep breaths. I feel as though my lungs are on fire, and no matter how hard I try, I can't fill them with the air that they cry out for; I'm hyperventilating and I begin to panic.

There's a sudden movement beside me and my panicking increases for a couple of seconds, until a warm and strong arm wraps around my shoulders, easing me backwards against a supporting chest. I hear something spray beside me, then a hand raises up to my face, holding my green coloured life support; my asthma medicine. Edward places it to my mouth and I clamp my teeth around the nozzle. As I continue struggling to draw in air, he sprays the inhaler twice and then pulls it away.

"It's okay, Jazz. Try to take deep breaths. It's going to be okay," he assures me. "Feel my breathing, Jazz. Feel my breathing and breathe with me."

My heart is racing and my chest heaving. I try to focus on his word and the movements of his chest against my back. His chin comes to rest against my shoulder and I can feel his warm breath against my ear when he continues talking to me. His voice remains calm, though I know he's scared; he always is when I have an asthma attack.

"Breathe with me, Jazz. That's it, you can do it. Long and deep breaths."

It takes several more seconds, but I finally manage to match my breathing to his, taking in a much needed lungful of air. His hand rests lightly on my bare chest, the bed sheets having dropped down to our waists in the sudden panic. He rubs his palm gently over my aching ribs and places a relieved kiss to my cheek. After another pull on the inhaler, I sink back further against him and close my eyes, just relieved to be breathing easily again.

"Are you okay now, babe?" he asks with a concerned tone.

"Yeah." I nod against his shoulder and continue to take deep and steady breaths. "I just had a crazy dream and then I couldn't breathe."

"You screamed and it woke me up, which is lucky with you having an attack. Are you sure you're okay, babe?"

Nodding once more, I force my eyes to open. I can breathe much easier now thanks to Edward's help and the medicine. I hate the asthma. I've had it since I was a small child and had regular attacks at that age. Now with the advances in medicine, my attacks are fewer and further between, but I always keep my inhalers within reach as I never know when one might hit.

"You want to talk about your dream?" Edward asks.

"No," I murmur, shaking my head. "It was just silly, I guess."

"If it woke you screaming and caused an attack then I doubt it was silly," he rebuked.

His hand continues to stroke over my bare chest, his fingers twirling around the smatters of hair, and now and then his thumb brushes a nipple.

"It _was_ silly. We were sitting under a tree at the lake near where I lived as a kid. I was kissing you, and then a big turkey pecked me on the ass. I realised it was our Christmas dinner and I needed to catch it. I tried to but it moved at the last minute and I fell into the lake. Then the ice formed over the top and I couldn't get out; I was drowning."

While I told him about the dream, his hand stills on my chest. I inhale another deep breath, the memory of the dream no longer bothering me now. Like I told Edward, it just sounded silly. After a couple of seconds, his hand begins moving again, his thumb tracing circles around a nipple. The sensation feels wonderful and I arch my back for more, but he stops.

"Sounds like a bad dream," he concludes.

"No, it was nice at first," I reply, for some reason feeling defensive about it. "But then you were acting all strange."

"How strange?"

I smile at the memory and tilt my head back against his shoulder. His face is so close to mine and I steal a kiss from his lips.

"You were gobbling like the turkey."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Recognisable characters belong to Stephenie Meyer, the rest is from my imagination.**

**Wishing you all a very happy new year!**

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><p><strong>Chapter Two<strong>

Edward's face is a picture, but after a couple of seconds he chuckles and shakes his head. We steal a few more kisses from each other, until Edward notices that it's almost six and he needs to get ready for work. I feel cold as soon as he leaves the bed; once he draws back the curtains, I see it's snowing heavily outside and just the sight of the white flakes makes the temperature drop a few more degrees.

I turn my attention to the love of my life, watching as he walks into the en-suite bathroom, and I wonder for the thousandth time what I've ever done to deserve him in my life. I moved to the Pacific Northwest when I was eighteen. My mother had remarried and I didn't get on at all well with her new husband. He didn't seem to like me much either; I think mostly because I'm gay and he's a complete and utter shallow-minded redneck. I decided to flee my hometown in Texas and begin a new life. I knew moving to such a small town as Forks would likely make being gay that much harder, but the apartment prices are cheaper here, with it being such a small logging community town.

I'd been planning to leave Texas for a while, so I had enough money saved up to afford the rent and to even get myself a cheap little run-around of a car. It took a couple of weeks before I secured a job, but it involved having to commute to and from Port Angeles each day. I had tried everywhere for employment, but in the end the only place that decided to hire me was the movie theatre. It was there that I met Edward.

I'd been working there for almost a year and it was supposed to be my night off, but a new movie hitting the big screen turned out to be something that many people wanted to see; considering the content of the film, I'd been rather surprised.

Brokeback Mountain: a movie about two sheep-herding cowboys that fall in love. I'd expected it to be a complete flop, though of course being a gay nineteen year old, I'd had my ticket ready to see it. I'd been somewhat devastated when I received an urgent call from the theatre that night, begging me to go in to work. Lucky for them, I was already heading in that direction to catch the film, so I reluctantly agreed as long as I could leave during the trailers so that I wouldn't miss the movie.

By the time I had parked my car and reached the theatre, the queue had been well out of the door, and the fact many of those in line were guys had really surprised me. I jumped the queue and ignored the shouts and protests as I went inside. My boss, Peter, was already on the ticket booth and told me to help on the refreshments. I'd taken over serving drinks whilst the less experienced guy, Ben, worked on the popcorn stand.

I'd clock-watched for half an hour, hoping that I wouldn't need to miss the show. With the trailers about to begin, the queue had still been out the door. When I raised my eyes to call for the next customer, I was met with the most emerald green eyes I had ever seen before. They were so sparkling and clear that I could almost see my own brown eyes reflected back at me. An awkward silence passed between us for a couple of seconds, as though both of us had been hit in the gut by a freight train. He raised a hand and ran it through his copper hair, then smiled shyly and ordered a large Pepsi.

When the trailers were almost over and the movie was about to begin, I begged Peter to let me go, which gratefully he did. The opening credits and music was just starting as I entered the room and made my way to my pre-booked seat. I had worked in all the different areas of the theatre over the past year and could easily find my seat in the dark. What I hadn't been expecting was the copper hair and green gaze that was there waiting for me, right there in the neighbouring seat. I had to squeeze by him to reach my own and he stood to let me pass, our bodies lightly brushing and causing a strange but pleasant static to run through me.

I kept my eyes on the screen all through the first half of the film, but even though I was paying attention, I was also strongly aware of the presence beside me. As the movie broke for an intermission half way through, many of the customers left their seats to renew their drinks and use the bathrooms; I stayed seated and hoped Peter wouldn't text my cell phone to get me back on the refreshment stand. I turned my attention to a middle aged couple a few rows in front of my seat. They were discussing the sex scene in the tent. Both were saying how unrealistic it was, though in my opinion I thought it had been filmed and directed just fine. The woman was saying how it was wrong that they hadn't used protection, therefore the film is promoting unsafe sex. I scoffed quietly at her words, though apparently not quiet enough.

"Well, she does kind of have a point."

I turned my head to the side and instantly began drowning in a pool of green. I had deliberately not looked to him throughout the first half of the film, so I hadn't even noticed that he'd not left like most of the others to get refreshments. He stared right back at me, then smiled shyly and looked down, a faint blush turning his skin from cream to strawberry milkshake.

"Huh?"

He looked to the couple that were still discussing the movie and how lame they thought it was, and then turned his eyes to meet mine again."That it promotes unsafe sex. Who knows where either of them have been. They should have used protection."

"Well, they didn't plan for it to happen, so it's not like either of them had a condom and lube prepared just in case," I defended.

He smiled and looked down, nodding his head that caused his mess of copper spikes to bounce. As I drew in a breath, I caught the scent of his shampoo on the air between us and had to grip the arm rests to keep myself from leaning closer.

"Well, yeah, you're right there," he agreed. "I bet he was hurting the next day after that though. It's a good job he didn't have to ride his horse up to the sheep."

I chuckled and looked away, glancing around the room. The straight couple from a few rows ahead had decided not to stick around for the rest of the film and had left. There was a few people scattered around the room in their seats, and gradually more began returning from their break. I glanced back to the guy beside me and smiled a little.

"So, you came to watch the film alone?" I asked. "Didn't your girlfriend want to come?"

His emerald gaze rose to meet mine once again and he shook his head. "Don't have a girlfriend."

"Oh…fiancé then?" Another shake of his head. Oh, dear God, no way was I so lucky to have met an adorable guy at the movie theatre who was a single gay man. "Boyfriend?"

His blush deepened just slightly, but his smile also widened. "Not for a while now."

Holy shit, he really was gay _and_ single. What was I going to say to him next? It all seemed too good to be true, but there was no denying that this guy was hot as hell, and the bulge pressing against my fly was a clear indicator of that. I just decided to let my cocky Texan side go.

"I meant do you want one?"

His smile widened, which was a good sign considering that once the words had left my mouth, I'd been expecting him to throw a punch or something at my forwardness. When his hand did move, it was palm up and towards my own hand.

"Edward Masen."

I smiled, taking his hand and shaking it. "Jasper Whitlock."

We've been inseparable since that day. We hadn't considered our chance meeting at the theatre to be a date, so we'd met again the next night to watch the movie all over again and took full advantage of my staff discount card for the refreshments. By the time the movie was over and we walked to our cars, we were both feeling sick from all the candy we'd eaten, but it had been a fun night.

We've been together for three years now. Edward had been quick to invite me to move in with him and, with my rental agreement about to end on my apartment, and the fact I couldn't get enough of him, I had quickly accepted. With Edward's job as a computer technician, he has a far better apartment than me anyway and insisted there was definitely room for me and that he'd like nothing better than for me to live with him.

I glance around the bedroom and then back to the window, watching the falling snow for a minute. I had pretty much turned into the housewife of the relationship. I'd quit my job at the theatre a couple of months after moving in with him and now I work from home as his personal assistant. I have control of his phones, setting up all of his appointments and I deal with the bills. I like the arrangement; the job at the theatre had bored me, but now I get to stay home most of the time. It helps that I'm kind of OCD too. Edward always comes home to a spotless house and a fresh cooked hot meal.

There's only one thing I hate about this arrangement, and that's the fact that Edward is gone all day long, from eight in the morning until five at night. I miss him so much when he's working and I'm now looking forward to the Christmas holidays; the phone will be taken off the hook, leaving peace and quiet and tons of alone time for us. With the big day just three days away, I have everything planned out, everything ready and perfect, except for one last gift that I'll be driving from our home in Forks to Port Angeles to collect today. I smile at the thought of what I'll be buying; the present has been specially made and I can't wait to see the final product. I hope Edward will like it just as much.

I hear the water of the shower turn on and smile even wider to myself. Edward must have just finished shaving and is now butt- naked in the shower cubicle of our bathroom. Perfect - just how I like him. I cast the blankets off of me, shivering at the cold of the room, but I know I'll be more than warm enough in a minute.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: All recognisable characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.**

**Sorry for the short delay in bringing you this chapter, but I've had work the past two days.**

**Also, I want to thank BabyBarlow and bbbluez for your reviews x**

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><p><strong>Chapter Three<strong>

I move stealthily, quiet as a mouse as I tiptoe to the bathroom. The heat of the water has already contrasted with the cold glass, forming smog so that I can barely see him inside. That's good; if I can't see him, then he can't see me. I hastily strip out of my sweat pants and socks and slide the shower door open as silently as I can. His back is to me as he stands under the spray of hot water, just letting it wash away the sleep from his body, soaking his copper hair to make it appear deep brown and flat to his head. I watch the river of water as it trails down the line of his spine and disappears into the crack of his ass. Oh, what I would give to have my tongue follow that river.

I step inside behind him and close the door. It clicks as it closes and Edward begins turning to look towards me. Moving closer, I press my bare front against his back and snake my arms around his middle.

"Jazz…"

"Shh, darling." I rock my swelling crotch against his ass cheeks at the same time that I trail my tongue over the back of his shoulder to gather the water and taste him. "Mmm, so fucking good, darling; the perfect breakfast."

He shivers from the mix of my words and my motions against his ass, but his hands cover mine, trying to pry me away. "Jazz, we can't, babe. You're too sensitive after an asthma attack. You might set one off again."

He succeeds in prying away one of my hands and raises it to his mouth, kissing my palm almost apologetically. I know he's right, but I feel completely fine and with the excitement of what I'll be doing today in Port Angeles, I can't face a morning of Edward just leaving for work as normal. I want him, need him, like a drug.

Before he can pull away, I lower my palm further down his body and take him in hand. He gasps as I give a light squeeze, and then stroke my fingers to the head. I give a twist and stroke him back down to the base, using the flow of water down his body as moisture to make things smoother for him.

"I know I might, darling, but I need you so bad. We don't have to go all out, love…but please let me do this," I request.

When I continue to stroke him, his gasps start to increase. He releases my hand and braces his own to the tiles, his head drooping down under the spray to watch me fisting his cock. After a few more seconds, he begins rocking his hips into my hand. I knew he couldn't say no, he could never deny me; he wants this just as much as I do. I meant what I said though. I'm not going to take this all the way; just enough to get us both off to start our morning on a high note.

I move my other hand to his hip, pulling myself back away from him and lightly tug his hip until he reverses also. When he's far enough back, I halt him and slide my hand over his ass, up to his lower back and press down for him to arch his spine some more.

"Spread your legs, darling."

He obliges right away, shifting his feet to the side, causing his ass cheeks to spread. I receive my first glimpse of his glorious puckered hole and bite my lip to keep from moaning. Releasing his dick, I reach for he bottle of body wash from the shower rack.

"I want to try something new this morning," I confide. "Do you want to play?"

His head is still lowered, but I see him nod and a guttural moan is his only answer. I stroke my hand over his lower back and down to his ass again, giving each cheek the lightest of taps.

"Rest your cheek against the tiles and hold your ass open for me," I instruct him.

Edward leans forward to follow my request, the motion causing him to strain, but when he tries to take a step closer to the wall, I catch his hip and hold him in place. He adjusts his feet to support himself better, then moves his hands from the tiles and places them on his ass cheeks, spreading them wider for me.

"Fuck, that's so hot," I whisper. "So fucking hot."

His body's already beginning to tremble with anticipation, but I have no intention of making him wait. I flip open the cap on the shower wash and drizzle some at the top of his crack. It trails down towards his hole. With my other hand, I guide my hard dick to his ass and use the head to help spread the body wash around. As it mixes with the water still trailing as a river down his crack, it turns the coloured gel into slick white bubbles. I squirt some more onto my length, using my hand to soap myself up, then step closer and push my cock downwards so it lies parallel to his hole.

"Squeeze your ass cheeks together, Edward," I whimper. "Pin me in place with them."

He responds right away, pressing his cheeks together like I told him to and holds them tightly together, cocooning my cock between them. I sample the tightness he's creating, rocking my hips against his ass. The soapy bubbles help me to slide, but the tightness is still there and elicites a moan from us both.

"Jazz…"

"I know, darling. It's so fucking good."

I squirt a large amount of body wash onto my palm, then flick closed the cap on the bottle and drop it to the tiled floor. Moving my hand around to his front, I grasp him once again and massage the gel up and down his length.

He moans as I stroke him, adding a twist each time I reach the head. I move my other hand to rest on his hip to keep him steady and lean down to place a kiss on his back.

"Don't hold back, darling," I encourage him.

"Not in my nature, babe," he whimpers in reply.

We had waited a few months after our meeting before finally going all the way together. I had bottomed our first time, but we'd both been so hyper and excited like virgins that it only lasted a maximum of three minutes before Edward came. He was so apologetic afterwards and tried to suck my cock to make up for it, but I'd held him back and told him to wait half an hour, then we'd do it again. Before we did, I had jokingly told him to not hold back and he'd replied that it wasn't in his nature. Now it's our pre-sex mantra.

I straighten my body up, stilling my hand on his cock for just a moment, as I move my hips so that my own cock slides against his slick hole. I bite my lip at the sensation, but it doesn't help to prevent the moan that breaks from my throat. Edward keeps his cheeks held firmly together as I continue to rock against him, now using my hand to mirror on his dick what I'm feeling with my own. Each time the head of my dick rubs over his tight hole, I add a squeeze to the head of his, wanting him to feel what I am.

I keep my rocking gentle, being careful not to thrust so much as to accidentally force myself into him, or to push him forward against the tiles and hurt his neck. Arching my back, I spread my feet to the same width as his as I buck against him, my hand resting on his hip to support us both while my other hand rubs him in sync.

"Oh shit, Jasper," he mewls. "That's so damned good."

"I know, darling."

His breathing becomes shallow with the strain of keeping his ass cheeks held together, having to force himself not to thrust to meet my hand. I lean closer and trail my tongue along his back, lapping up the river of water, and then kiss his shoulder.

"Tell me what you want, Edward; tell me how you want it."

"Faster…" he demands. "Faster - I'm getting close."

I fist his cock faster, rocking my hips to match. When he gets closer to his release, his hands clench his ass cheeks tighter together so I can barely slide anymore. My balls tighten as my cock begins to swell.

"Fuck! Coming!" I moan as the orgasm hits me.

My hips move sporadically against his ass as I release in waves against his slick hole. With my body shaking, I grip his shaft tighter and tug him in spasms as the orgasm rolls hard throughout my body. His hands shoot away from his ass and slap against the wall to brace himself, shooting his come load across the tiles. The water quickly washes it away before it can settle.

It takes a couple of minutes for our bodies to cease trembling after our release. Edward turns and gathers me into his arms, checking that I'll recover from my raspy breathing. The steam isn't much help, but he reminds me to breathe in sync with him and I recover just fine.

We share a few lazy kisses, and then I playfully pinch his ass. "Better finish showering, or you'll be late for work. I'll make breakfast. What do you want?"

"Are your sweet lips on the menu?" he teases. I chuckle and shake my head, sliding the shower door open and step out to grab a towel while he sulks. "Porridge it is then."

I close the door to keep the heat in the room for him. The bathroom floor tiles are freezing after the heat of the shower. I dry as quickly as I can and pull my sweats and socks back on. After getting a t-shirt and a thick jumper from the closet, I finish dressing as I walk downstairs to the kitchen. The whole house is cold, and once I have the porridge cooking in a pan on the stove, I hastily light a fire in the lounge.

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><p><strong>Anyone need to take a cold shower?<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Recognisable characters belong to Stephenie Meyer, the rest is from my imagination.**

**Thank you everyone for your reviews so far. Glad you're enjoying it x**

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><p><strong>Chapter Four<strong>

While I finish spooning the porridge into two bowls, a pair of arms snake around my middle and a kiss is placed to my cheek. I smile at the sensation of Edward's smooth skin against my slightly stubble clad face and turn my head to meet his lips. He presses up behind me, like I had done to him earlier, and his tongue darts out to meet mine. I let him pin me up against the kitchen counter for a minute longer, and then push my ass back into his crotch to guide him away.

"Breakfast, darling," I point out.

He huffs like a teenager, but I smile and hand him his bowl, following him to the dining table. We sit in our usual places and I open the journal I had left there from dinner the night before. As we eat, we discuss his appointments for the day.

"Okay, you have Newton's Outfitter's at eight fifteen. They just had new electronic tills fitted and can't get them to work right. After that you have three computers at the high school to wipe clean and reset after a virus, then Mrs Thortonberry called needing you to explain to her _again_ how to attach pictures to an email; personally, I think she just called because she misses her eye candy."

I smirk and swallow down a spoonful of porridge and syrup. Mrs Thortonberry is clearly a time waster. She calls at least once a week for the silliest of reasons, just so Edward will go to her place. I've lost count of the number of excuses she's used, and I know it's just so she can stare at Edward's ass while he leans over her computer. You'd think I'd be jealous about that, but considering that Mrs Thortonberry is in her seventies and one of those weird cat-ladies, I know where Edward's heart lies in that situation.

He rolls his eyes and continues to eat his porridge, having sliced up some fresh apple to go on top. He's such a health freak; easily casting aside a cheeseburger for a salad instead. Can't say I can really moan much. Where he eats salads, I eat steaks, and where he tosses his balled up socks on the floor, I clean up after him. We both have our own OCD.

"So, what are you going to be doing for the day, babe?" He asks after swallowing his food. "All my appointments are booked for today and at five on the dot I'm officially not working for the holidays. What are you going to be doing today instead of taking phone calls?"

I've finished my porridge already. Following the episode in the shower, I'd been starving. Now I proceed to pour maple syrup onto my finger and lick it off.

"I have to drive out to Port Angeles for a last minute present," I reveal. "Then I'll be back here to decorate the tree and to make sure I've bought everything we need for the next few days."

Edward chuckles. "I'm sure you've bought everything we need for the next few days _and_ the next few months. It's only for one day, Jazz, and then the stores will be open again. We're not going to go hungry, you know?"

"Yeah, I know," I concede. "But I just want everything to be perfect. You know what I'm like."

"Yes, babe, I know what you're like." He finishes his last spoon of porridge and pulls on his work coat on to leave.

He leans down, placing a kiss to my forehead that ends far too soon for my liking. When he pulls back, my hand flies out to catch the bottom of his coat. I tug him back to me, tilting my head up towards him. Edward smiles, touching his lips to mine, and I'm quick to deepen it. We kiss for a few seconds, but I wish it could be for hours.

When he retreats again, he checks his watch. "I need to go if I'm going to make it to Newton's on time. I hate being late."

"Well, don't be late home tonight," I warn him. "The second your ass is through the door, we have nothing but each other for three whole days; I'm looking forward to it."

"I'll make you a deal," he replies with a boyish grin. "I'll let you have the honour of unhooking the phone and turning off our cells for the next three days, if I get to put the star on the tree."

I stand and begin gathering our breakfast bowls together, having to lean over the table to reach his. I still when I feel his hand trace over my ass, easily detecting the warmth and smoothness of his palm and fingers through the fabric of my sweat pants. I straighten back up and turn, throwing my arms around his neck and crushing my lips to his as he closes the distance between us. He presses his body flush against mine, and then friskily squeezes my ass.

I squeak and break the kiss, narrowing my eyes playfully at him. "Of course you can put the star up. It's not like my short ass can reach the top of the tree anyway."

I glance towards our lounge, where the huge real tree we'd bought a couple of days ago was standing waiting to be decorated.

Edward pinches my ass again to turn my attention back to him. "You might be short, but there's nothing wrong with your ass, babe. Come on now, I have to go to work."

I bring on the pouted lip and the puppy eyes, so he knows I'd much rather he stays home with me so we can make out all day long. He chuckles and tilts his head, kissing away my pout and teasingly traces his tongue over my lips. I moan and try to deepen the kiss, but he pulls away and releases me.

"I'll be home on time," he promises. "You just be careful going to Port Angeles today. The snow fall is getting heavier."

I follow him to the door and hold it open as he steps through to go to work. The snow's coming down heavy like he'd said. It's going to take him several minutes to clear the flakes from his car before he can leave.

"I will, darling. The roads should be clear enough." I grin and lean against the door frame. "Anything extra special that you want Jazzy Clause to get you today?"

He's thoughtful for a moment while he scrapes the snow from his car. I wrap my arms around myself and tuck my hands under my armpits to try and keep them warm. Once the windows of his Volvo are all clear, he turns back to me with a smirk.

"The only extra special thing I want today is for you to have the bed warmed ready for me getting home," he replies.

My face mirrors his smirk and I blow him a teasing kiss as he gets into his car. Once the engine is started, he blows me one in return and revers from the driveway. I wave as he drives away and watch until he's out of sight before closing the door and scurrying over to the fireplace. It's so damned freezing out today and I already feel like an ice-cube from waving him off, but I wasn't going to break tradition just because of some snow and cold winds. Adding more fresh wood to the fire, I sit in front of the range and watch the flames lick their way around the logs, producing enough heat to keep me toasty warm.

I'm disturbed a while later by the phone ringing. I don't really want to move away from the heat, but it's the kick in the ass I need to get moving; I need to leave soon to go to Port Angeles. Standing, I cross the room to the phone, picking it up before the message machine can take over. It's just that old Mrs Thortonberry asking if Edward will still be going to help her today despite the weather. I assure her that he's already left for work and she's the last stop of the day, so he'll be there around four this afternoon.

By the time she'd told me repeatedly what good lads we are and I finally hang up the phone, it's nearing nine. I hurry upstairs to change into some thicker clothes to brave the elements. It may be a little over the top when I tug on two pairs of socks, but goddamn this is the coldest I've ever felt in Forks since I left Texas. Sometimes I miss the blistering heat of the Texas sun, but I wouldn't give up this rain drenched, and now snow covered, town and Edward for anything.

Once I'm all bundled up and looking as though I've gained several pounds, I grab my wallet and keys from the side table in the lounge and step outside to brave the snow. I unlock the door, turning on the engine and the heaters while I begin scraping the snow from my car. It's falling in thick, white flakes; a soft powdered snow, easy enough to brush aside. I then take my credit card to the windows to scrape off the layers of ice that have formed. Once every last snowflake is off my car, the interior is toasty warm and ready to go.

I reverse slowly from the driveway, making sure there's enough grip. By the time the tyres touch the road, everything seems fine. I had considered snow chains, but from the look of the roads, the snow plough has been through at some point and they're clear enough. Edward's made it away from the house without his snow chains, and so can I.

I lean forward, hovering my hand over the heater for a few seconds to get the feeling back in my fingers, then flick on the stereo and push in my favourite Dire Straits CD. I love this car. Edward bought it for me for my twenty-second birthday a couple of months ago. My old banger of a car had been on its last legs. Edward swore this new car is second or third hand. I didn't want him spending too much money on me, but I love this car to pieces.

He'd bought me a 2002 Dodge Stratus in an amazing charcoal grey colour. He says it's sleek and good looking, just like me, but I'm happy to have anything as long as it has working heaters and windshield wipers. I'd told him another old banger would have sufficed, and he joked that I'd be my own old banger one day, so to live young and enjoy the car; so we did…several times.

I smile to myself as I remember the many times that we christened my new car, and then turning up the volume, I sing along to 'money for nothing' at the top of my voice while driving towards the outer limits of the small Forks town. As I pass Newton's Outfitter's, I spot Edward's Volvo in the parking lot and smile. He's going to be in for a big surprise soon and I really can't wait. It's going to be an anxious wait for midnight on Christmas Eve. I plan to give him what I hope will be his greatest Christmas present ever.


	5. Author's Note

**Author's Note**

Following a message from Wolfenmoon1313, I'd like to confirm that my previous FF author name was Jasper1863Hale, but I now write under the name NenyaBlackWood. While I'm working on some new stories, I'm reworking a few of my older, shorter stories and publishing them under my new name.

Thank you, Wolfenmoon1313, for checking that I'm not being plagiarised by someone.

**Nat x**


	6. Chapter 5

**A/N: Recognisable characters belong to Stephenie Meyer, the rest is my imagination.**

**Thank you everyone for your wonderful reviews so far, and sorry for the delay in this chapter because it was my birthday on Friday so I had my mind in other places :)**

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><p><strong>Chapter Five<strong>

When I reach the town's border, I'm both glad and pissed off to find myself stuck behind the snow plough that's clearing the roads. I pull out just enough to see around him and notice that the roads are thick with snow. I'm not going to risk overtaking him. I'll just have to sit behind him all the way to La Push and hope that the roads from there to Port Angeles are clear. Looks like I'm in for a long ride.

As I predicted, about forty minutes later, the snow plough turns off towards La Push to uncover the reservation's roads. There's still snow on the main highway to Port Angeles, but it must have been cleared earlier in the day since it's not too deep. I continue to drive at a slow speed though, not wanting to risk skidding.

I finally reach Port Angeles by half past eleven, on a journey that would normally take a lot less time. Parking in the nearest lot that I can find, I decide to walk through the whole of the town to stretch my legs after being in my car for so long. I lock the door after checking I have my wallet, phone, and inhaler with me, and then walk towards the main high street of the town.

There's a winter wonderland feeling. The main street is snowed in, blocking traffic from getting through, and so everyone who's risked the cold is on foot. When I'd received the phone call the afternoon before, I had been told to collect the important present at midday. I still have half an hour to spare, so I stop in a small coffee shop and treat myself to a hot chocolate, complete with whipped cream and marshmallows. I sit watching the snow through the window as I sip the mug of warmth and comfort, wishing Edward is here with me to enjoy the same. It's only been a few hours since I last saw him, but I miss him terribly already. I can't wait for him to finish work tonight and have him all to myself for the next few days.

Once my hot chocolate is gone, I check the time and see that it's nearly midday. The butterflies in my stomach kick start into action and I leave the coffee shop to go to my intended destination. When I enter the store, the twinkling fairy lights combined with the many items of jewellery almost dazzle me into blindness. Closing the door to keep the cold out, I turn towards the shop owner who raises his head from examining a necklace.

He smiles in recognition. "Ah, Mr Whitlock; right on time. I have your order here. Would you like to see?"

"Absolutely," I confirm, barely able to contain my excitement.

He ducks underneath the counter to retrieve a small box and opens it, setting it down between us. My first impression is that the item I've ordered is absolutely perfect. I cautiously pluck it from the box to check it in full, turning it over in my hands a few times before smiling.

"It's just as I pictured it would be," I tell him.

Nestled in my hand is the most beautiful ring I've ever seen, though I'm biased since I'd detailed it exactly as I wanted it. The ring is made from white gold and has clear, white diamonds embedded around the rim,on both the top and bottom edges. Inside is the inscription that I'd wanted: _Forever and a day_.

I'd known I wanted forever with Edward within the first month of us dating. I had never felt this way about my only other boyfriend before leaving Texas. I want our futures to be entwined. I want to grow old and grey with him, and for us to eventually lie side by side in our eternal rest. I want everything possible with him, and I've saved my wages for the past few years to afford this ring for him, wanting to gift him with an official symbol of our love.

The shop owner holds out his hand and I place the ring on his palm, watching as he uses a soft cloth to polish it to a perfected sparkle.

"He's one very lucky man," he says, while setting the ring back into its box. "I wish you the best of luck, and congratulations in advance."

"Thank you," I reply, touched by his kind words.

Taking out my wallet, I place some bills onto the counter and he tries to decline them. The ring was already paid in full when I made the final order, but I'm so happy with the end result and want to show my gratitude with a large tip. He takes the money reluctantly and wishes me a Merry Christmas, and good luck once again.

I pat my jacket as I leave the shop, feeling the box inside and smile to myself. I'm so lucky to have found Edward, though he claims he's the lucky one. He puts up with everything from me, from my OCD of having everything spotless and perfect, to my asthma attacks if and when they occur. I'm definitely the lucky one in this relationship. I only hope I'm not moving forward too fast for him. I want to make him completely mine in every way, and the last step is marriage. I want my ring on his finger and my spoken vows to pass between us.

By the time I reach the car, I'm cold again and sit with the engine running for a couple of minutes, until the heaters warm the interior of the car and my frozen fingers. I take another peek at the ring, being careful not to fall to temptation and touch it, not wanting to leave a print upon it after it's been polished. I can picture it on Edward's finger, and for him to say 'yes' will make my perfectly planned Christmas with him complete.

Once the car has warmed and the box is back safely in my pocket, I toss my wallet, phone and inhaler onto the passenger seat and pull out of the lot to begin the drive home. I know it's likely going to take another hour and a half to get back, especially if the roads have worsened and the snow plough hasn't driven through again. The street out of Port Angeles is clear enough, the snow mostly turning to slush from passing cars, but by the time I reach the forest road back to Forks, the snow is thicker than it had previously been.

I drop my speed, using a lower gear to keep the car slowed down. The journey home is a slower process than the journey out here. I have to use the windshield wipers on their fullest speed to keep the glass clear from the fat white flakes. It's like a blizzard, hardly able to see a few feet in front of the car. I only manage to stay in a straight line because I can make out the trees on my right and try to keep the same distance from them.

I'm on the road for near an hour before I feel the car beginning to tilt upwards. I've reached the familiar hill and I know I'm only about six miles from Forks now. I know this road like the back of my hand, having commuted to and from work at the theatre for months before meeting Edward.

I put my foot down further on the gas, dropping another gear for more power from the engine; I'll need speed to get up the hill in this weather. The tyres spin before finding traction and the car begins climbing the incline of the road. As the tyres spin more, cutting through the snow and ice to try and find some grip, I press my foot down firmer on the pedal.

"Come on, darling. You can make it." I know it's silly to talk to a car, but with the music turned low so I can concentrate on driving, I feel the need to comfort myself by speaking. "Come on, darling. I have faith in you. Just keep on going, I gotta get home and decorate the tree for Edward."

I press the gas further, but part way up the incline of the hill, the tyres begin spinning again as they struggle to find purchase in the snow.

"Come on, come on," I plead through gritted teeth.

The car starts to slip backwards down the hill and I quickly check the rear-view mirror to make sure no one's behind me. There's no view out of the back window. I've forgotten to switch on the rear window heaters. Looking back to the windshield, I can only hope that there's no-one behind me.

I keep my foot to the floor, mentally begging the car to find grip and get me up the hill. I'm holding the steering wheel so tightly, my knuckles are almost white. With a last ditch effort, I change to the lowest gear.

The tyres suddenly find purchase as the engine revs loudly. The car lurches forward, slamming me backwards into my seat as it begins to speed up the incline. I know I should ease off the gas now that I'm in motion, but I don't want to risk losing the thrust and begin sliding down again. I keep my foot on the pedal as the gradient of the road starts to ease. I still can't see much of the road ahead, but from memory, I know it continues straight and I try to keep the car in that direction. When I reach the top of the hill, I ease off the gas and manage to maintain control, shifting up to the next gear and continuing on the slow journey towards home.

I check my watch, seeing it's nearing two already; it's definitely taking much longer to get home. By now I should be nearing the La Push reservation, and I hope the roads are still clear from the snow plough earlier in the day.

As I continue on, a big shape looms at the side of the road. My headlights illuminate the 'Welcome to La Push' sign and I breathe a sigh of relief. The sigh quickly chokes into a gasp. There's something in my way on the road. It looks like a person and instinct makes me slam on the brakes, trying to swerve around them.

The car goes too wide on the slippery road, causing it to skid. The front fender connects with the person and I see it topple. It takes me a millisecond to realise it isn't a person, but a snowman. Some bratty kids from the reservation must have thought it would be a laugh to build it in the middle of the road and wait for a car to drive through it. The snowman's head lands on the hood of my car, smattering snow and a carrot across my windshield. My foot's still firmly on the brake. I try to counter-steer, but it leaves me skidding in the other direction. The back of the car collides with something hard and I hear the crunch of metal and the smash of my tail lights, then the car begins tilting over. I release the steering wheel in a panic, not knowing what to do. I yank up the parking brake, but it does nothing to help. The car lands on its side and the seatbelt tightens across my chest. My foot becomes jammed under one of the pedals, the gas or the brake, I can't be sure. When the car finally lands on its roof amongst the trees, I feel and hear a sickening crack in my lower leg near my ankle. I scream as the pain rockets through me,t he windshield smashing inwards, showering me with glass.

It takes a couple of seconds for me to register that the car has stopped moving. The engine has cut out and the music and heaters are off. All I can hear is the creaking of the car, or maybe it's the trees I've landed in, and the pounding of my heart in my ears. There's a warm, stickiness on my face. I blink a few times as my panic continues. The pain in my leg is agony and the seat belt is constricting my chest, making it difficult to breathe. I feel the approaching asthma attack tightening my chest more. In a blind panic, I try to locate my inhaler. With the car on its roof, everything that had been on the passenger seat is now lost. I reach out a hand, trying to feel around the roof to find where it's landed, but my chest is becoming too tight and my breathing more desperate. I try pulling on the seatbelt to loosen it, to give me more room to move, but with my weight against it and each movement agony to my chest and leg, that's soon out of the question.

I can feel the coldness around me and I try telling myself it's just the snow, but instinct argues that it's death approaching; death coming for me. That thought increases my panic and my vision begins to blacken. I close my eyes, trying to will my heart not to beat out of my chest and kill me, trying to slow my breathing down, but it's too hard.

As the blackness closes in, my last thought is of Edward, and how pissed he's going to be that I've wrecked the car he bought me just months ago. It's a stupid thought, but I'm not exactly thinking straight. All I can focus on is the agony as I pass out.


	7. Chapter 6

**A/N: Didn't want to leave you hanging for too long, so here's the next bit.**

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><p><strong>Chapter Six<strong>

There's a faint and rather irritating beeping that reminds me of some form of alarm. I want to roll over and turn it off so I can go back to sleep, but my body feels too heavy to move. I sense a motion beside me and manage to will my eyes to slowly open. They feel gritty and sore, and it takes a couple of blinks before my vision clears.

Standing at my side is a man with almost white, blond hair and a long white coat. All he's missing is wings and a halo. He turns his head and his blue eyes find my gaze. Smiling, he steps a little closer and I notice he has a clipboard in his hand.

"It's good to see you're awake," he says. "How are you feeling?"

I try to answer, but my throat is so dry, I can't even produce a squeak. He sets the clipboard down on a table and picks up a cup of water with a straw. Holding the straw to my lips, he directs me to take small and slow sips. The water soothes the dry ache in my throat, and when the cup is empty, he places it back on the table to refill it.

Licking my lips, I try to speak and produce a whisper. "Where am I?"

He pulls up a chair and sits facing me. "You're in Forks Community Hospital. I'm Dr. Carlisle Cullen."

"I'm not dead?"

He chuckles and shakes his head, talking quietly and I strain to hear him. "No, you're not dead. You're very lucky, Mr Whitlock. Do you remember what happened?"

I want to roll my eyes and tell him I'm all banged up, not messed up in the head; or am I? I try to remember, the force of doing so making my head ache, but it all comes back to me.

"I was driving home from Port Angeles," I detail. "I was near the La Push sign and there was a snowman in the road. I thought it was a person at first and swerved to avoid them. I lost control and crashed; I couldn't breathe."

Carlisle nods, confirming what I'd said. "You suffered an asthma attack after your accident. I would call it fairly lucky though. The speed of your heart helped your blood to flow faster, keeping your body warm and from going into shock from the cold."

I've never considered an asthma attack to be a good thing, and I'm still concerned. "Am I going to be okay, Doc?"

"Your ankle was severely broken. I had to put in some screws during surgery," he explains. "You had a gash to your head and bruising to your shoulder and chest, but overall, you should be just fine. I'll be keeping you in tonight and through most of tomorrow for observation in case of concussion, then tomorrow evening you should be fine to go home."

I raise my hand to my temple, able to feel a bandage under my fingertips. Following it, I discover it's wound all around my head. I try to focus on my legs, wiggling my toes. My right toes move fine, but shoots of pain flow through my foot and ankle from the left side and I groan.

Carlisle nods sympathetically. "I just gave you an update of morphine through your IV. Your pain will begin to ease soon."

Turning my head to the side, I notice a fluid bag on a tall metal stand beside me, with a plastic tube running from it, down to my arm. I follow it with my eyes, seeing the needle in the back of my hand. Glancing beyond the doctor to the window, it's dark out and the street lamps are on. I can see through the light that it's still snowing, but my thoughts go elsewhere and I look back to the doctor in a panic.

"Edward," I almost shout.

Edward would have finished work for the day by now, once he'd satisfied Mrs Thortonberry with his irrelevant company. He'll be home and worried sick that I'm not there. Carlisle nods and raises a hand, gesturing to my other side. I focus there to find a mess of copper hair on the bed beside me. The love of my life is fast asleep with his head buried on his arms.

"The paramedics found your phone and wallet while getting you out of the car," the doctor explains. "They checked for an emergency contact, but there was none clearly indicated. They checked your most recent calls and saw that Edward's number was the most contacted, so they phoned him. He got here before the ambulance had even brought you in. He hasn't left your side since you came out of surgery."

I nod a little and keep my eyes on Edward. Raising my hand, I want to run it through his messy hair, but I don't want to wake him.

Dropping it back to my side, I looked to the doc. "Where are my clothes and all my things…? There was a ring."

I begin sitting, another panic starting to rise at the memory of the ring that had been in my inside jacket pocket. I hope it isn't lost, but I hope even more that Edward hasn't seen it.

Dr Cullen leans over, placing his hand on my shoulder to ease me back down. "Your belongings are in storage until you're discharged. The ring is there also. I'm afraid we had to cut your clothes to get to your injuries, so Edward will need to bring some in for you tomorrow so you can go home."

"Just don't let him see the ring, Doc."

He nods and I succumb to him tucking the blanket back over me with care. He has a good bedside manner, so must be a really good doctor.

"I won't let him see the ring," he promises. "Is it for something special?"

I glance to Edward, making sure he's still asleep. He gives a faint snore and I know it'll be fine to continue talking. "I was going to propose to him on Christmas Eve at midnight. Guess that's out of the question now. I won't be able to get down on one knee."

"Hmm." A frown creases the doctor's forehead and he sits back in his seat. His eyes flicker between Edward and me, and I begin to worry in case he hadn't expected us to be in a relationship together. What if he decides he no longer wants to treat me because I'm gay? What if the whole hospital decides they don't want me here? The fears rush through my mind, but then a smile spreads on Carlisle's face and the frown lines disappear. "Well, you don't necessarily have to be the one on your knees proposing. You're going to be out of action for a while, so Edward is going to need to tend to everything you need. I suppose you could ask him to kneel in front of you, then produce the ring and ask him then. The one knee thing is just tradition, anyway."

Stunned, I stare at him for several seconds. He isn't grossed out or shocked at all about me admitting that Edward and I are together. Instead, he's offering me advice!

"But I want to do it all properly. I kinda have this thing where everything needs to be perfect," I admit.

"You mean like an obsession?" he asks. "If you see a picture frame not hanging straight, do you feel strongly compelled to adjust it?"

"Um…yeah."

I looked down and stare at my hands before noticing a loose thread on the blanket covering me. Reaching out, I twirl my finger around the thread and snap it, leaving the blanket smooth and perfect again.

Carlisle chuckles at my obsessive actions. "Well, you're going to be in plaster for at least a minimum of eight weeks. If you really want to go down on one knee then you'll need to wait until then."

"But I can't wait until then. It's going to ruin my whole Christmas," I argue back. "I had it all planned out perfectly and now I can't do it. I don't even have the tree decorated yet. I was going to do that once I got home from Port Angeles; and what about Christmas dinner? Don't get me wrong, I love Edward to bits, but he can't even boil an egg right."

The doctor smiles and turns towards the heart rate machine that's continued beeping the whole time and is getting more frequent the more worked up I become.

He leans over, turning the machine off and then looks back to me. "What about a Christmas dinner at a restaurant instead? Then afterwards you could propose at the table, or even ask the waiter beforehand to hide the ring somewhere, like in the bottom of Edward's wine glass or something."

"Put the ring into his wine? Hell no, that thing cost a lot of money," I object. "I don't want it getting lost, or stolen, or damaged."

"Well, it was just a suggestion," he replies. "But for now you need to sleep and let your body get over the accident. There's a button here at the side of the bed; press it if you need anything and a nurse will come. I've just finished my shift for the night, but I'm back again in the morning so we will see each other again before you leave. I'll be the one discharging you tomorrow evening."

He stands and picks up his clipboard, scribbling down a few quick words, and then turns to leave. Right away I feel bad for shooting down his ideas. It isn't that I don't think they're good enough; it just isn't what I had planned at all. I want a Christmas with just me and Edward, home alone together, with me getting down on one knee at midnight to propose. I can't get down on one knee now, and if I can't stand without support, how am I going to make a wonderful Christmas dinner for us?

Carlisle is almost to the door, and I sigh. "Hey, doc? Thanks for your suggestions. I just want a Christmas at home; I didn't mean to be snappy about it."

"Don't worry about things too much, Mr Whitlock. No matter how you ask him, I'm sure he'll accept either way. Like I said, he's not left your side all evening and night; if that's not love then I don't know what is." He smiles and opens the door. "Goodnight."

He leaves before I can respond. Lifting my hand, I run it over my eyes, then turn my attention back to the sleeping angel at my side, wondering for the thousandth time what I've ever done to deserve him.


	8. Chapter 7

**A/N: Recognisable characters belong to Stephenie Meyer, the rest is all my imagination.**

**Thanks for the reviews. Much love x**

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><p><strong>Chapter Seven<strong>

I wake in the morning to a nurse poking and prodding at my hand, removing the IV needle. She smiles, telling me she'll only be a moment, then I can go back to sleep. I'm pretty grumpy when I tell her there's no point now because I need to use the bathroom. She leaves to find a doctor and I turn my head, expecting to see Edward still asleep there, but he's gone. I push myself up so I'm sitting and shove down the blanket to take a look at the damage. I'm in one of those horrible hospital gowns that barely reach your knees and don't cover your ass. While the room is empty, I quickly feel underneath and sigh in relief to find I'm still in my boxer shorts.

Glancing down at my left leg, I see it's covered from below the knee to almost at the toes by a bright red, solid plaster. I tap the top with my knuckles and look to the door as it opens. The blond doctor from the night before enters the room, carrying a pair of metal crutches.

"You're looking better this morning, Mr Whitlock. How is the pain level?" he asks whilst leaning the crutches against the mattress.

"Aches like hell, but it's bearable," I confirm. "Where's Edward?"

"He left about an hour ago once he knew you were stable. He went to get you some clothes ready to take you home and said he had a couple of things to do, that he'd be back at lunch time," he tells me. "Now, let's get you to the bathroom, eh?"

I nod, my bladder feeling like it will explode any second. Carlisle helps manoeuvre me so my legs are over the side of the bed, and then passes me the crutches, telling me how to use them to take my weight so I can stand. I have to learn to use just the one leg to rest on, keeping my injured left leg off of the floor and take baby steps towards the bathroom. He helps me to the door, opening it for me and closes it behind while he waits in the main room. I hobble towards the toilet and relieve my bladder, leaning all of my weight on the crutches when it feels like it takes forever to piss.

When I return to the main room, Dr Cullen helps me back to the bed and settles me down. He tells me he has other bed visits to make, but that he'll be back to discharge me in the afternoon, sooner than he'd previously planned since I'm doing well and can move around on the crutches.

I remain lying on the bed throughout the day, just wishing for time to go quicker. A nurse comes with a tray of breakfast for me and a cheery 'Merry Christmas' on her lips, and it takes all my mental strength to not tell her where to stick it. Does it look like I'm going to have a good Christmas? My ankle is busted, I've got a bandage round my head and my boyfriend is AWOL. After the nurse leaves, I give the breakfast a quick glance and then push the tray away. Hospital food sucks.

The same happens at lunch time, only it's a different nurse. She scolds me for not touching any of my breakfast. Truthfully, I'm really hungry now having only had a bowl of porridge the morning before. When she sets down the tray of lunch food, I sit up to take a look at what's on offer, and sink back down with a grimace. It's some kind of sloppy stew with hardly any meat in it. I tell her to take it away and she scolds me again, but I hold my tongue and glare at her until she leaves with both trays.

After that, I lie staring at the window. It's stopped snowing and the sun is trying to make an appearance, which is rare in this part of the country. I turn my attention to the wall clock instead, watching the minutes ticking by from half past twelve until two, and still no Edward.

By three, I'm getting impatient and also worried. What if he's had an accident on his way home this morning, or on his way back to me? I sit up, about to jab the button that will call a nurse, when the door opens. I see a flash of copper and I'm instantly relieved, turning my full attention to Edward as he comes towards the bed with his own eased smile.

"You're awake. Oh, babe, are you okay? Are you in pain?" He sits on the side of the bed, taking my hand in his.

"A little, but that doesn't matter," I reply, shrugging off his concern. "Where the hell have you been? The doc said you went home to fetch clothes and would be back by lunch."

"I know, baby," he confirms with a contrite tone. "I had a few things to do, but I'm here now."

He raises our hands and traces warm kisses over the back of mine. I tug my fist almost viciously out of his and watch the hurt look come to his eyes. Before he can react, I take a fistful of his shirt and pull him closer, crashing my lips to his. I have been in a car accident. My leg is fucked, my head aches, and all he can do is kiss my hand? Screw that.

We're both breathless when I finally release him, but there isn't much else we can do while I'm stuck in a hospital bed. He moves around to my other side and pulls my clothes out of the bag he'd brought, helping me change out of the hospital gown and into a t-shirt and a warmth fleece-lined hooded jacket. When it comes to helping me into my jeans, the chore is awkward and in the end he has to take a pair of scissors to the left leg so he can get them on over the cast. He's even been thoughtful enough to bring his Christmas stocking from home. It's blue with red stripes and his mother had knitted it for him when he was a boy. It's big enough to easily slip over the end of the cast and up my foot. With the jean leg lowered in place, it's hard to tell that I'm wearing a stocking for presents. He helps me get my jeans on the rest of the way and moves down to put a sock and a boot onto my other foot, while I deal with the fly and button. Once I'm fully dressed, Edward goes in search of Dr Cullen so I can go home.

Before we leave the hospital half an hour later, I send Edward to pick up my prescription medication from the pharmacy in the hospital, while Dr Cullen hurries to retrieve my belongings for me. I check the ring is okay and hide it in my pocket, then take two pulls on my inhaler to keep the anxiety induced asthma away. When Edward approaches, the doc whispers good luck to me and then waves us off.

I hobble awkwardly on the crutches to the car. Once inside, Edward buckles the seatbelt for me, despite my protests that my arms are perfectly fine. He closes the door and puts the crutches onto the back seat as he climbs in behind the wheel.

"So what happened?" he asks while starting the engine. "I was worried sick, babe."

"I'll talk if you'll drive," I negotiate. "Take me to a drive-thru place. I'm starving and need cheeseburgers right now."

He watches me a second longer, no doubt pondering whether to sway me into picking a healthier meal, but he gives in and drives out of the lot. The roads are still a little treacherous and he keeps the vehicle in a low gear. Once he's at a comfortable speed, he moves his hand from the gear stick and takes hold of mine.

"So talk, babe," he encourages.

I inhale a deep breath, running my other hand through my hair then look to him, watching him drive. I tell him about the bad weather on the way back from Port Angeles and that when I'd been near La Push, there had been a snowman in the middle of the road. I tell him I'd thought it was a real person, since my windshield had been so blocked with snowflakes that I hadn't been able to make it out right. I describe what I can remember of the car skidding and ending up on its roof in the trees, and how I'd panicked and had an asthma attack, thinking I was dying.

Edward traces his thumb over the back of my hand, his fingers moving to thread between mine and tells me that he'd been making slow progress towards Mrs Thortonberry's home when he received the call. He'd turned around and headed right for the hospital, arriving several minutes before I did. He'd wanted to see me right away, but they'd had to rush me to surgery for my ankle. The second I was out and in a room to recover, he'd stayed by my side all through the night until morning.

I don't know the extent of the damage to my car, but I remember the windshield had smashed and the roof had dented inwards. I'm apologetic about it. The vehicle had been a gift from him, one I'd cherished, and now it's scrap.

Edward kisses my hand again after joining the queue at the drive-thru. "Babe, forget about the car. I know you loved it, but to me it was just metal, glass and rubber tyres. What matters is that you're going to be okay."

"But Christmas is ruined because of me," I murmur, staring at our hands.

He pulls forward a in the queue and I glance up to see how much further it is between me and the cheeseburgers. The car in front is a people carrier, loaded with squabbling kids and a rather distressed and agitated looking mother.

"How is it?" he asks.

"I had a really wonderful Christmas planned for us and now it's all ruined," I repeat. "It's Christmas Eve. I haven't even gotten the tree decorated and there's no way I can cook Christmas dinner like this."

He smiles, tracing his thumb over my hand again and shakes his head. "Don't worry about any of that, babe. We don't need a big Christmas dinner with just the two of us anyway. You tell me what to do with the turkey and I'll cook the dinner."

I raise an eyebrow and stare at him. "No offence, darling, but you burn toast. I'm not letting you anywhere near the kitchen, unless it's to get a beer from the refrigerator."

"Then we'll go to the store on the way home and buy some ready-made frozen meals. They probably have chicken ones, and then I can just microwave them. It can't be that hard," he concludes.

"No!" I snap. "I bought a turkey, and by God, we are going to cook and eat it! I'm not having no turkey laughing at me, Edward."

His other eyebrow rises to match the first. I'm not sure if it's from the tone of my voice or from what I'd said. I don't need to wait long to find out, though.

"What? What do you mean about the turkey laughing at you?" he asks. "Jasper, the turkey is dead. It has been for days and it's ready for cooking."

I sigh, burying my fingers in my hair and shake my head. The bandage had been removed before I left the hospital and I'm careful not to touch the stitched gash.

"Just that stupid dream I had yesterday morning," I explain. "About you and the turkey laughing at me when I was drowning."

"Aww, babe, it was just a bad dream," he replies, trying to soothe me. "Don't worry about Christmas at all, okay? Knowing you, you've had all of your presents bought and wrapped for three months anyway, and I finished wrapping mine when I was at home earlier. You don't have to worry about a thing. We're just going to go home, stick on a classic Christmas movie, and enjoy the peace and quiet together like you wanted."

I nod, knowing that he's right. I've had the presents wrapped for a long time; it had only been the ring that wasn't ready to be given to him yet. I won't be able to wrap it now.

I remove my hand from my hair and gesture to the windshield because it's our turn at the window. "Let me start Christmas with three cheeseburgers with everything."


	9. Chapter 8

**A/N: So, I got a little taste of what Jasper is feeling. Yesterday, I was involved in a car accident. Thankfully, no one but my precious car was hurt, and now I'm having to look for a replacement.**

**Anyway, here's the finaly chapter of this story. Enjoy, and let me know what you think!**

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><p><strong>Chapter Eight<strong>

By the time we reach home, I've munched my way through two of the burgers and I'm starting the third. I'm so hungry after having not eaten since the morning of the accident. Edward sits patiently at my side until I've finished the last one, then steps out of the car and brings the crutches around to my door. He helps me out of the car and then closes the door for me. The driveway and steps have been cleared, so I'm able to hobble my way up to the door without his help. I guess Edward had cleared the snow when he was home earlier today, and I'm grateful for it. I don't fancy going back to the hospital with a busted ass after slipping on the ice. He opens the door when I reach the top step, feeling completely drained and exhausted already.

Turning towards me, he grins. "Close your eyes."

"Seriously?" I ask, exasperated. "Edward, I'm on crutches with a busted ankle and you want me to close my eyes? Do you want me to spend Christmas in hospital?"

His smile fades and he shakes his head. "Sorry, I didn't think about that. Oh well, just come right in. I guess it's still a surprise whether you see now or later."

He steps aside and I limp my way past him, wondering what he was talking about. I freeze when I make it to the lounge door. There are sparkling and colourful decorations hanging from the ceiling. The Christmas tree has been decorated and beneath there's already several wrapped presents.

"Wow, Santa came early," I remark.

The front door closes behind me and Edward kisses my neck. "You like it, babe? Did I do it right for you?"

I'm silent while I try to take it all in. There's a pre-made gingerbread house on the mantlepiece and below is my usual Christmas stocking that Edward had bought me two years before. Edward's stocking is missing, and then I remember why; it's keeping the toes of my broken foot warm. I absorb the sight of all of the decorations around the room. He's done so well, my OCD doesn't kick in.

Well, except for one point. "You forgot to put the star on the tree."

Edward chuckles and steps past me into the room. He glances back and raises his hand, using his finger to gesture me to follow. I limp my way into the room and to where he's stopped at the couch. He helps me move so I'm sitting and then carefully raises my wounded leg to settle it onto a footrest. After I remove my hooded jacket, Edward crouches down and takes off the boot from my good foot, carefully tugging his stocking off the other. He shakes it out and hangs it beside mine on the mantlepiece over the fire, stoking it and adding a log while he's there.

I squirm to try to get more comfortable and watch as he walks over to the tree. There's one decoration box left on the table and he opens it, revealing the star that will rest on the top.

"Well, we did make a deal that I could put the star on the tree this year, but it didn't seem right to do it without you here," he explains. "Besides, I know you only let me do it because you like to check out my ass."

He looks over with a smirk and I can't stop the guilty grin I return to him. Laughing, he turns around to face the tree. It's a few inches taller than him and he'll need to stretch. He lowers his hands seductively down his sides and deliberately hitches up his jacket and shirt to above the waistline of his pants. My eyes drop to take in the view of his ass; two perfectly carved cheeks on a wondrous sculpture. He stretches up, making a big deal of still being unable to reach. Lifting his foot onto the table beside the tree causes his ass cheeks to spread and the fabric of his pants to pull taught across them. I groan and bite my lip as he places the ornament in position.

With the star in place, Christmas can officially begin. Edward makes us some hot chocolate with marshmallows - at least he can't mess that up - and he sits down to watch 'The Polar Express' with me. Once my drink is all gone and I snuggle against him to watch the film, my eyelids begin growing heavy. He puts his arm around me, shifting a little so I'll be more comfortable. I try to fight the sleep, but I'm just too tired.

A quick glance to the clock shows it's only just past seven and I yawn. "Hey, Edward? If I'm not awake in time, then wake me just before midnight, okay? Just because I'm hurt and tired doesn't mean I want to miss out our midnight gift exchange."

We have the same tradition each year. At midnight on Christmas Eve, Edward and I exchange one gift to each other, usually the best gift that we'll receive. I've thought about what Dr Cullen had said about not having to follow tradition to propose. Well, I can't be down on one knee, as is tradition, and now we won't be having a proper Christmas dinner either, but at least I can keep our gift exchange tradition.

The last thing I'm aware of as I drift off is Edward's warm lips against my forehead, kissing me goodnight.

I wake to a gentle shaking and Edward saying my name a couple of times. I open my eyes and rub them, finding myself now lying down with my legs on the couch. Edward must have moved me at some point. I glance to the TV, seeing that another Christmas movie is playing, but he's muted it. Sitting up with his help, I look to the clock and discover it's ten minutes before midnight and Christmas Day.

I stand with Edward's help, asking him to get me a soda from the fridge while I make my slow and painful way to the toilet. Luckily we have one downstairs, and it seems I'll be crashing on the couch for the next few weeks. I make it back without any hitches and even manage to sit back on the couch and get my leg onto the footrest by myself. At least I still have some independence.

Edward returns with two sodas and two pills that I need to take, one for pain relief and the other to fight infection following the surgery. I swallow them down and watch as Edward goes over to the tree. There still isn't any of the presents I've bought for him under there. I'll need to tell him where I hid them so he can fetch them himself. There's no way I can climb the stairs and then up the attic ladders by myself. With his back to me, I pat my pocket, feeling the ring still there.

Edward smiles as he walks towards me with a fairly large wrapped box. "So, who's giving first this year?"

I glance to the clock, seeing we have about four minutes to spare and look back to him. "You give to me first this year."

He sits beside me and places the box onto my lap. I eye it up and hope his initial thought at my gift to him won't be disappointment, considering the ring box is a lot smaller.

I read the label then tug on the bow, pulling the ribbon away and pass it to Edward. Unable to hold off my excitement anymore, I rip into the wrapping paper and look at the box confused. There isn't any writing to give away what's inside. I peel off the tape and pull open the flaps, tilting the box so I can see inside better, and my eyes widen in surprise. Inside the box is practically my own sex shop. I've been hinting for a while about wanting to sample some new and strange things in the bedroom. Edward had sounded a bit uncertain, especially when I mentioned anal beads and butt plugs, but now here is my very own box full of different toys and gadgets, and more boxes of condoms and packets of lube than I can count.

I raise my eyes to his, still rather in shock. "Seriously?"

Looking back down, I pull out a gadget that I'm not really sure what it is or what it does. The label reveals it's a prostate gland stimulator. I press the button on the end and it begins vibrating in my hand.

I smile and look to Edward as I turn it off. "Well, we'll be having some fun with that when I'm better. Thank you, darling, for all of this. It's brilliant."

When he leans over and steals a kiss, I move the box aside but leave the prostate stimulator on the couch between us. I want to suss it out some more afterwards. Checking the clock, I see it's a minute to midnight and I look back to Edward. He has a gleam in his eye. He's excited to see what I'm going to give him and now the nervous butterflies are coming to my stomach.

"Darling, I know this will seem strange, but can you come and kneel in front of me?" I ask.

His smile falters a little at my request, but then it returns as he moves to settle on his knees infront of me, his hands beginning to stroke slowly up my thighs towards my crotch. "Doesn't sound strange at all, babe. I was kind of hoping for my present first, but I can wait."

When his fingers move towards the zip of my fly, I stop his approach, catching both of his hands with one of mine and shake my head. I look to the clock. Thirty seconds. I look back to his eyes, seeing his confusion.

"No, darling," I whisper. "As much as I want that, I just don't right now. I'm going to give you your present as soon as it strikes midnight."

His frown deepens and he turns his face towards the clock. Fifteen seconds. He keeps his eyes on the clock and I take his distraction as advantage and slip my other hand into my pocket. I pull out the box and flick it open with my thumb. Glancing to the box, I see the ring sparkling and reflecting the twinkles of the fairy lights on the Christmas tree.

As the clock on the wall strikes midnight, Edward turns back to face me with a grin of anticipation, which quickly falters when he sees the ring I hold towards him. "Jazz?"

"Darling…I love you and…I want to have forever and a day with you," I stammer with anxiety. "Edward, will you marry me?"

His jaw drops as his eyes flicker between my own and the ring. I begin to grow worried; silence isn't the answer I'd been either expecting or hoping for.

His mouth bobs for a few seconds like a goldfish, and then his emerald gaze locks onto mine with a bright smile. "Jasper, of course I'll marry you."

"You will?" I ask, needing to be sure.

"Yes, Jasper Whitlock. I _will_ marry you, and we _will_ have forever and a day together."

Tears fill my eyes at his response, both glad that he's agreed to marry me and also glad he wishes to have forever and a day; after all, I've had it inscribed inside the ring. I pluck it from the box and he leans up closer, stealing a kiss while I slide the ring effortlessly onto his finger.

We continue to kiss, sometimes quick little teasing pecks, other times trying to see who can touch the other person's tonsils with their tongue first. Edward works his way up until he's straddling my waist, his arms around my neck and his fingers buried in my hair. I reluctantly break the kiss to catch my breath, my chest and ribs still aching from the accident and the asthma attack. As I catch my breath, my hand comes into contact with the smooth rubber beside me, and as Edward trails warm, wet kisses across my neck, I grin and pres the button.

The vibrating sound startles him and he leans back, meeting my eyes as I smile.

"You know, I'm such a big kid," I tease him. "Wanting to spend ages playing with the toys I get for Christmas."

**The End**


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